Leon Edwards may just be the best welterweight on the planet. There are few fighters who combine such crisp striking and efficient grappling with such enviable ring IQ. The Jamaican-born Briton is truly the epitome of a mixed martial artist, and his skillset might even be unmatched in eclecticism at 170lbs. The problem is, to prove himself as the best on the planet, Edwards must do something he has already failed to do: beat Kamaru Usman, in the main event of UFC 278 this Saturday.
Edwards, however, dismisses any notion that he is haunted by his sole defeat in the UFC, one which gave way to a nine-fight win streak that has finally earned the luckless but patient 30-year-old a shot at the gold.
“I think it’s more just a memory now,” the Birmingham native says of his 2015 loss to the man who now reigns atop the division. “I watched it back a few times. It’ll be two different fights; I think whoever approaches [the rematch] thinking it’s gonna be the same exact fight, they’re gonna lose. I’ve literally erased it from my memory, I’m just going in there thinking this is a brand new opponent.”
Edwards started strong against Usman in their first fight but was ultimately outpointed, the Briton’s admirable takedown defence and slicker striking fading under the incessant pressure of the indefatigable “Nigerian Nightmare”. That three-round affair is part of Usman’s current 19-fight win streak, which incorporates his 2019 title triumph and six subsequent title defences.
Usman’s wrestling was integral in the 35-year-old’s victory over Edwards almost seven years ago – as it has been in most of his wins since – but the challenger believes he has bridged the gap to the champion’s greatest attribute.
“I think his wrestling and what he does is pretty basic,” Edwards insists. “He’s nothing like a Khabib [Nurmagomedov] or anything like that. What he does, he does well, but his technique and what he uses is pretty basic. I think he thrives on being tough and being the stronger person in there. His last three opponents are all really lightweights, if you look at the structure and the size of them. I’m one of the biggest guys he’s fought, a rangy southpaw, and I’ve got great grappling and wrestling. I think that will be the difference.”
It will need to be. Usman’s rematch with Edwards will be the Nigerian-American’s third in his last six bouts, with the champion having recorded two successful title defences against Colby Covington and two against Jorge Masvidal – either side of a victory over friend and former teammate Gilbert Burns. Usman stopped Covington in the rivals’ first clash, finished Masvidal brutally in their second, and stopped Burns in their meeting. While Usman’s wrestling is his strongest asset, he has added clinical, piston-like striking to his game, with significant power contributing to his finishes.
Usman’s record and abilities have led many to deem him the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, a crown that Edwards believes he should take with a victory over the welterweight champion. “One hundred per cent,” he says. “They’re holding this guy in high regards, like he’s the pound-for-pound best, blah blah blah. So, when I go out there and beat him, I want no excuses.
“I hope [I’ll be considered pound-for-pound No 1 with a win against Usman]. They probably wouldn’t put me there, but I should hope so with the way they’re holding him. When I go out there and beat him, I want them to hold him in the same regards as they held him before the fight.”
While Usman has begun to breach the mainstream, Edwards has long been overlooked. “It is what it is,” he shrugs. “You go out there and perform, and you gain the fans’ respect as you fight. I’m not really focused much on [my profile].”
His skills seem undeniable, yet the Briton has struggled to secure match-ups with high-profile opponents. In fact, the Covid pandemic brought about the cancellation of a clash with former champion Tyron Woodley in London, while Edwards has welcomed a bout with fearsome, fast-rising star Khamzat Chimaev, only to see it fall through three times in the last year.
Edwards’ long wait for a title shot might have been caused, in part, by his reluctance to talk trash to his opponents. “I couldn’t do it,” he admits. “It’s not my personality to go out there and start being a weirdo; it wouldn’t resonate with the fans. Obviously you’ve got to talk and sell fights, but I can sell fights just with truth and my personality. I’m showing guys under me that if you go out there and perform and beat the guy they claim is the top guy, they cannot deny you.”
In any case, Edwards’s last win was his most significant to date, coming against fan favourite Nate Diaz last June. Edwards pieced up the American on the feet and on the mat for 24 minutes, before being caught by a right straight with a minute left on the clock. A dazed Edwards survived Diaz’s last-gasp flurry, however, to win on points.
“This rematch is similar [to the Diaz fight] in terms of how many eyes are on it,” Edwards says. “I’m not overcomplicating it to make it bigger than what it is. Obviously it’s for the world title, but this is my fourth main event for the UFC. I’m just going in there like it’s another main event. I go there to get my revenge and also get the belt.”
A win in Salt Lake City, Utah this Saturday would make Edwards just the second British champion in UFC history. The Birmingham fighter has spent his whole career training on home soil, desperate to prove to his compatriots that they do not need to move to the US to make a name for themselves. Of a potential title win, Edwards says: “It’d be amazing, not just for Birmingham but for the UK. It can only help and spur other guys on to have more confidence, to go out there and beat these other guys [from around] the world.”
Defeating Usman may just be the most monumental task in all of MMA right now. But Edwards, despite his past defeat by the champion, could well be the man to carry out that task.
The Briton does not talk the same game as his welterweight rivals, but he does not need to; in the Octagon, he is on another level to them. The only person who may be on a level of their own is Usman. On Saturday, Edwards faces his final boss.
